I made this to eat during Passover next week. Last year, after some consultation with Facebook friends, I decided I would start eating beans on Passover. I had always avoided beans, as I grew up Conservative, and most Conservative Jews of an Eastern European background consider them to be not Kosher for Passover. As my eating habits got closer to vegan, though, I realized I wouldn't be getting any protein if I didn't eat beans, and I believe my health takes priority over following the letter of the law. (I almost said "my health trumps following..." but let's not say that word.) It turns out there are some well reasoned arguments about why beans should be ok anyway.Nowadays I eat a lot of beans on Passover.
This recipe didn't start out with beans, though. I was looking through one of my favorite falling-apart cookbooks, World of the East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey, and found an eggplant recipe. I have no memory of making it, but in my handwriting above the recipe it says "very good." I love eggplant, so I figured it would make a good starting point and I could add a bean spread to it. Then I had some leftover tomato innards from another dish, and tomatoes go great with eggplant and white beans, so it all started to come together. Here's what I did:
Boil white beans (or open a can) and add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and salt. Mush.
Slice 1 eggplant the long way and sprinkle each piece with salt. Let sit until beads of water form on top, then rinse the salt off. Then spray cooking spray in a pan and fry the eggplant slices, two at a time. If you put a lid on, it will steam a bit as well and you won't have to use as much cooking spray or oil. Set aside the eggplant until cooler.
Spread 2 Tbsp white beans on each eggplant slice and roll it up.
In a spice grinder, grind 4 tsp fennel seeds to powder. In a small bowl, mix with 1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.
Add 2 Tbsp oil to a medium-sized pot and heat. When it's hot, add in two shakes of asafetida. Let it heat for just a few seconds, then add the other spices, plus 1/4 cup water. Stir until spices are all mixed with the water. Then add 2 cups stewed tomatoes, 2 Tbsp tamarind, and 1/2 tsp salt. Let it come to a boil, then gently add the eggplant rolls. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
I think this should be eaten on top of rice, quinoa, or potatoes. I'm not sure yet what I will do with it.
I was glad for an opportunity to use asafetida, as I have a lot of it and few uses for it. My understanding is that Hare Krishnas use it instead of garlic and onions, which for some reason they don't eat. I was avoiding those foods a few years ago due to stomach acid so I bought asafetida as a substitute, and it is stinky!! Mine is inside a plastic container, inside a plastic bag, inside a glass jar. It takes a lot of layers to contain the smell! You use it in small quantities (just a pinch) to add some oomph to dishes. It is always the first ingredient in the pan, since it needs to be fried in oil for a few seconds. If the rest of the dish is not fried, you can fry the asafetida all by itself and then add it to the dish. Or you can just use garlic instead.
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